What types of social media are brands using and how are they effective?

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In today’s world, social media plays a huge role in how we’re able to access information and stay connected with the latest happenings. According to articles from the Harvard Business Review and Ad Age, an advertising and marketing news source, the way that fashion brands utilize their social media presence can have a huge impact on the success of their business. These types of social media methods include implementing branded content, as well as two widely used websites/apps, YouTube and Instagram.

According to The Harvard Business Review, “branding is a set of techniques designed to generate cultural relevance.” Furthermore, it states, “brands also infiltrated culture by sponsoring TV shows and events, attaching themselves to successful content.” The reason why branded content is so successful is because it appeals to audience in a emotional or psychological way. The way it is done has evolved over the years as branded content was frequently seen mostly during events or television broadcasts, for example, Nascar racing. Each car or driver is branded with a business logo from brands like Sprint or Coca-Cola.  However, now, this branded content is often implemented in the form of social media posts.  Nowadays, celebrities are often seen on various social media platforms mentioning or wearing specific clothing brands in order to promote it. As a result, consumers see this and are influenced by what the content is associated with. For example, Seeing a celebrity via social media advertise a new product is effective for society because consumers see them as wealthy, successful and influential figures which makes them  want to buy that product even more.

In addition, YouTube has become a widely used medium for delivering branded content as well as other content that is used to influence consumers buying habits and attraction to trends. Along with the videos constantly being uploaded to YouTube, the people who produce them are also have a major impact in how consumers behave toward the content. Since YouTube is a community that is freely available for the public to join, it’s not just movie stars who are putting out this influential, product-selling  content; these are real people who gained a following simply due to creating content in which viewers have a common interest in. For example, the Harvard Buisness Review states, “YouTube’s greatest success by far is PewDiePie, a Swede who posts barely edited films with snarky voice-over commentary on the video games he plays. By January 2016 he had racked up nearly 11 billion views, and his YouTube channel had more than 41 million subscribers. How did this happen? The story begins with the youth subcultures that formed around video games. When they landed on social media, they became a force.” After this crowdculture develops, the ability to influence becomes easier. For example,  beauty and fashion YouTubers who started out creating videos as a hobby, have the ability to grow a large following and in turn, get the opportunity to be sponsored by bigger makeup and clothing brands to promote their products through their videos to influence consumer behavior.

The platform of Instagram has also been helpful in establishing connections between retailers and consumers. According to Ad Age, “ A designer can communicate with her audience on a moment-to-moment basis through sponsored Facebook groups and fan pages, online chats, Twitter feeds, Flickr, YouTube and new social shopping channels that facilitate two-way conversations.” Instagram, being primarily a visual photo and video based platform, has the ability to draw in consumers with eye-catching designs and visually appealing, fashionable content. By doing so, it builds the brand’s identity, or how it wishes to appear to the world. It gives a more personal, behind-the-scenes look into the brand as opposed to consumers simply knowing them for their name or their products.
In the next blog post, the idea of small buisnesses will be discussed and how social media helps them in gaining exposure.